Christopher Dresser: The Pursuit of Beauty

Discover the extraordinary work of Christopher Dresser (1834–1904), one of Britain’s most innovative and influential designers. About Widely regarded as the world’s first industrial designer, Dresser transformed the relationship between art, craft and manufacturing, creating beautifully designed objects for everyday life that continue to shape contemporary design today. This major exhibition explores Dresser’s remarkable career through ceramics, metalwork, glass, furniture, textiles and graphic design, drawing on collections across the UK. From his pioneering embrace of industrial production to the lasting influence of Japanese art and design on his work, the exhibition reveals how Dresser challenged Victorian conventions to create a bold new design language. Alongside Dresser’s work, four contemporary artists: Gabriele Beveridge, Alice Channer, Coco Crampton, and Magdalene Odundo. Through ceramics, textiles, sculpture and design, their work considers themes that remain central to Dresser’s practice: innovation, material experimentation, manufacturing, decoration and the relationship between craft and industry. Together, these works reveal how Dresser’s ideas continue to resonate across generations and cultures. Christopher Dresser: The Pursuit of Beauty offers a rare opportunity to encounter one of Britain’s great design pioneers and to discover how his radical ideas continue to shape the way we think about design, making and everyday objects.